PS3 vs Xbox 360

Recently I was lucky enough to get a PS3 in addition to my Xbox360. There have been huge debates on which console is the best, so I thought I would give my 2 cents. There are huge benefits and small drawbacks with each console. Lets take a look...

Xbox360:

I have been playing Xbox360 for years. Some of the biggest advantages of Xbox360 is the wide variety of games. All in all, Xbox360 releases more Xbox specific titles than the PS3. Some of these titles are well known and loved franchises. These include Halo, Forza, Gears of War and Fable. The lack of Xbox specific action games (like God of War) is a real draw back.

All Xbox360 games have achievements associated with them. This is huge benefit for me because I am a collector and dungeon crawler by heart. You can also view and share them with friends.

I like the Xbox360 controller's layout. Especially for shooters, the left (aim) analog sticks are nice and close to the movement controls. I don't like the lack of smoothness in the analog sticks with the Xbox360 controllers. This becomes a real hindrance with shooters (causes a lot of jagged movements). The batteries in the wireless controllers are also a pain. The alternative is to buy the rechargeable kits but they don't last very long - mine lasted about 6 months and then it was basically useless).

The release of Xbox Live South Africa was a real promising improvement for the people in South Africa. This should have improved match making but hasn't been the case of yet. Also the huge lack of content in the market place is a real let down. That said, once a match is found and you playing online with your friends, its a lot of fun.

Xbox360 is also marketed as a media center. While for a lot of content like pictures and music this works fine, I find that the problems associated with getting the required codex for playing movies a real pain. Also the lack of MKV support is a major issue these days. The lack of a blue ray player is another well known drawback. Xbox360 has also no built in wireless device. You can buy this separate but costs a whopping R1200.

I suspect the new Kinect that was launched recently also stepped ahead of the PS3 Move (but that is just my personal opinion without any real experience).

PS3:

While the Xbox360 might have a larger variety of unique games, the PS3 have consistently delivered on their unique titles. Some of the highest scoring and well loved titles are unique to PS3. These games include God of War, Gran Turismo, Infamous, Uncharted, Killzone and Metal Gear Solid.

I must admit there is something special to the PS3 and its games. The unique titles bring a flair and cinematic experience to games which is unparalleled. PS3 doesn't have achievements but they have a similar concept (Trophies) which is supported by some games but unfortunately you cannot share or compare this to your friends. That said, the PS3 games have much more content in their games. Most games have unlockables which include animated series, art books, making of the game documentaries, etc.

PS3's video capability is probably the best in the market. Between the built-in wireless which can stream directly from your PC and the blue ray player you are basically sorted with video content. PS3 also supports most video formats including MKV. The one drawback is the lack of NTFS support. Thus your harddrives are restricted to be FAT and thus limited to 4Gig files. This is a problem when using MKV files.

The benefit of the PS3 controller compared to the Xbox360 is the smoothness of the analog sticks. The controllers are wireless by default and come with standard USB rechargeable cables. It is also motion sensitive and a lot of new gameplay elements have been introduced like navigating projectiles and balancing objectives.

Verdict:

Seeing that the price difference is very small these days, both consoles are worth the money. If you are a South African gamer which loves playing online with friends and don't mind the video drawbacks then Xbox360 is a good choice. If you love videos and huge amounts of content and cinematic effects in your games then PS3 is the better choice.